We applied for Net Metering with Hydro One. The application process started at the beginning of 2008 and took 10 months. It shouldn't take so long but as we were the pioneers in net metering then in North Western Ontario, it did. Lots of paper work and patience are part of this long-term investment.

How does net metering work in our case:

When our batteries are full, our excess power goes back into the grid. That way we built a power credit (=Kwh credit) with hydro-One. Power credit is when more power is delivered to the grid than received from the grid.
This credit is good for 12 months, after 12 months the built-up credit dissolves and starts at zero again.
We still have a monthly hydro bill, but we do not or pay very little for used power depending on the season. We pay, like anybody else, a fixed amount or percentage for the other costs on the hydro bill like delivery fees, regulatory charges, depth retirement and administration fees. Of the fee's the delivery fee is always highest. Usually a 7x higher amount than our actual power usage amount.
In other words, the grid is the backup for our power incase we do not get enough power through our renewable energy system then our power comes from the grid. We could have chosen other options as back up like a generator, but it would be noisy and still would use gas which will get more expensive every year. We are happy we chose Net metering as back up.